Dishonourable Members Conal Walsh uncovers the unethical investments behind MPs' pensions

Dishonourable Members  Conal Walsh uncovers the unethical investments behind MPs' pensions 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/jun/24/houseofcommons.politics

Special report: House of Commons
Sun 24 Jun 2001 01.58 BST First published on Sun 24 Jun 2001 01.58 BST
Thegrowing appetite in Britain for ethical investment will be reflected by the Stock Exchange next month when it unveils a new FTSE ethical investment index. The FTSE4Good will exclude tobacco companies and arms manufacturers and provide benchmarks for 'socially responsible investments'. Yet the same rigorous principles have yet to govern the pension fund of our elected representatives.

In common with half the occupational pension schemes in this country, the MPs' pension fund now has a 'Socially Responsible Investment Statement' which guides its investment managers.

But that has not prevented the fund investing freely in firms such as Imperial Tobacco and arms exporter British Aerospace, nor from sinking millions of pounds into a host of other controversial corporations.

The investments are revealed in confidential documents seen by The Observer. Some MPs are unlikely to be concerned by the news. Former Tory Health Secretary Kenneth Clarke, for instance, avoided questions about a possible Tory leadership challenge last week by joining a trade mission to Vietnam on behalf of British American Tobacco, where he is a director.

But other MPs are outraged by the pension fund disclosures. Peter Bradley, Labour MP for the Wrekin, said: 'Ken Clarke may think it is acceptable to take money from the tobacco companies, but I don't. At a time when we are rightly encouraging others to invest ethically, I would have have hoped that we could set a better example.'

David Hinchliffe, Labour chairman of the House of Commons Health Select Committee, said the fund's investments were 'news to me.'

'My banking arrangements are with the Co-op Bank, which has an ethical investment policy,' Hinchliffe said. 'I find suggestions that my pension contributions are involved with tobacco companies very, very disturbing.

'I will pursue it personally with the pension fund trustees to see if we can do something about it.'

His fellow Labour MP Ann Clwyd, a persistent critic of the arms industry, said she would demand an explanation from the trustees who oversee the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund.

Virtually all MPs, including Tony Blair, are beneficiaries of the fund, to which they contribute 6 per cent of their £48,000 basic parliamentary salaries. The fund's managers regularly send them reports on how it is performing.

But only the trustees - a committee of eight MPs, chaired by the Tory former Cabinet Minister John MacGregor during the last Parliament - are told precisely how the money is invested.

Reports submitted to the trustees by the fund's two investment managers have now been obtained by The Observer. The first, by Cazenove Fund Managers, is dated 29 September 2000. The other, from Baring Asset Management, is dated 31 March 2001. The two firms manage more than £300 million in shares, bonds and other investments for the MPs' fund. The firms refused to comment last week, citing client confidentiality.

Following a round of infighting between Labour and Conservative fund members, the trustees finally agreed a 'socially responsible investment' policy last year. But critics such as Labour MP Tony Colman complain that this has been watered down to appease Tory trustees.

Colman, chairman of the House of Commons all-party ethical investment group, said: 'I strongly disagree with the trustees' claim that they now have an effective ethical policy. The fund retains investments in companies that do not fulfil the criteria of a normal pension fund taking account of environmental, social and ethical concerns.'

Aside from tobacco and defence companies, many of the other firms in the fund's portfolio have attracted criticism. Oil companies Shell and BP Amoco, drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and mining groups Anglo-American and Rio Tinto are all 'bogeyman' companies to environmental activists and pressure groups.

At the end of last September the fund also held more than £600,000 worth of shares in Railtrack, which has been criticised over safety after the Hatfield and Paddington disasters.

These disclosures mean that MPs may be in an awkward position when legislating on issues affecting firms in which their fund has invested. They will, for instance, debate the Government's flagship Communications Bill: millions of pounds of their money is in such companies as BSkyB and Granada.

Vincent Cable, the Liberal Democrat trade spokesman, said a more stringent ethical pensions policy was unlikely because MPs' views differ on the idea. 'Investments should have an ethical dimension, and the MPs' fund should reflect that. But it is not practical or desirable that the pension fund should be dominated by heavily politically correct principles.'

Labour's Nick Palmer, a trustee who wants a stricter policy, said: 'The problem is that some MPs militantly oppose ethical investment.'

He added: 'I propose we split the fund in two - into an ethical fund and a non-ethical fund, and MPs will be able to choose. That would be something that would interest constituents too: whether their MP had chosen to go for the ethical fund or not.'

MacGregor, who will soon step down as chairman after retiring as an MP at the last election, defended the fund's investments. 'I think, for example, Shell and BP Amoco are on nearly every ethical investment fund.'

He did not know whether Barings or Cazenove had sold shares in any controversial firms since the ethical policy was adopted, but he pointed out that Cazenove had intervened on the fund's behalf at one company's general meeting to vote against big bonuses for directors

MPs invest in arms and tobacco Secret papers show that Parliament's pension fund spends millions on 'unethical' investments

MPs invest in arms and tobacco Secret papers show that Parliament's pension fund spends millions on 'unethical' investments 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/24/uk.houseofcommons

British politicians are investing millions of pounds in companies involved in activities ranging from weapons making to tobacco.

The parliamentary pension fund, which includes Tony Blair among its members, has retained the controversial shareholdings despite agreeing recently to switch to an 'ethical investment' policy.

All MPs contribute 6 per cent of their parliamentary salaries to the £300 million fund, but have not been told how its managers, City firms Barings and Cazenove, invest their money.

But confidential papers seen by The Observer reveal that the fund's portfolio includes substantial shareholdings in corporations such as:

* Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco, Britain's largest cigarette firms and makers of Silk Cut and Lambert & Butler (£2 million worth of shares);

* BAe Systems, criticised for exporting arms to Indonesia and other repressive regimes, and for seeking contracts from the US 'Son of Star Wars' missile system (£800,000);

* BP Amoco, the oil giant accused of making excessive profits at home and under fire because of its involvement in occupied Tibet (£9 million);

* Shell, targeted by environmental campaigners and facing claims of human rights violations in Nigeria (£2.5 million).

Additional multi-million-pound investments have been made in drugs companies lambasted for their reluctance to make medicines cheaply available in poor coun tries, and mining firms allegedly involved in 'conflict diamonds'.

The fund also holds shares in Railtrack, which has seen its share price battered in the wake of the Hatfield and Paddington train disasters.

Last night MPs and pressure groups reacted with fury to the dis closures. David Hinchliffe, chairman of the House of Commons health select committee and a critic of tobacco companies, said the shareholdings were 'very, very disturbing'.

He added: 'I am very uneasy about any involvement with a fund which gains profits from compa nies like these. A large number of MPs will feel the same way.

'I would hope that, now this information has come to light, there will be steps taken to withdraw from such companies.'

Hinchliffe and fellow Labour MP Ann Clwyd, a longtime critic of the arms industry, said they would write to the pension fund trustees demanding an explanation.

Martin Salter MP, who has called for a 'windfall tax' on oil company profits, said: 'The idea that my hard-earned pension money may be contributing to these companies leaves a pretty unpleasant taste in the mouth.'

Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Global Witness and other groups also condemned the shareholdings yesterday.

A spokesman for Campaign Against the Arms Trade, which persuaded the Church of England to disinvest from arms firms, called the investments 'deplorable'. He added: 'We call upon all MPs to realise their inadvertent error and divest immediately.'

Clive Bates, director of Action on Smoking and Health, said: 'MPs should want to have their money managed in funds associated with health, welfare and the other things that people go into Parliament for, rather than in peddling tobacco.'

The shareholdings appear to fly in the face of the Government's pension policy. It introduced new rules last year forcing pension funds to reveal how much social, environmental or ethical considerations govern their investment decisions.

The board of trustees of the parliamentary pension fund, which comprises eight MPs, last year instructed Barings and Cazenove to follow 'socially responsible investment' guidelines.

But the guidelines did not insist on divestments from tobacco companies and arms manufacturers and were a compromise between Labour and Conservative board members.

John MacGregor, the former Tory Transport Minister and outgoing chairman of the trustees, defended the fund's portfolio. 'I think, for example, Shell and BP Amoco are on nearly every ethical investment fund,' he said.

40 Tory MPs attacks plans for snoopers' charter Government plans for a so-called snooper’s charter have taken a further blow after 40 Conservative MPs threatened to revolt over the plans.

40 Tory MPs attacks plans for snoopers' charter Government plans for a so-called snooper’s charter have taken a further blow after 40 Conservative MPs threatened to revolt over the plans.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9760689/40-Tory-MPs-attacks-plans-for-snoopers-charter.html


They are demanding major changes to the Communications Bill, which currently would allow the monitoring of the public’s every phone call, email and internet click.


In a letter, backbenchers also say the Bill’s scope must be limited to terrorism and the ‘most serious crimes’ if Britain is not to be turned into a nation of suspects.


Nineteen out of 40 of the MPs who signed the letter became MPs in 2010.


According to the Daily Mail, the letter says: “There has been no proper explanation of how [clauses in the Bill] concerning ‘filtering arrangements’ will work in practice.


“It is clear that they would authorise ... techniques designed to infer potentially suspicious activity from the patterns of mass data held on every innocent citizen in this country.”

Related Articles


'Morally wrong' to raise council tax 18 Dec 2012


Lost data blunders costing councils £1.9 million 17 Dec 2012


Councillor takes taxpayer-funded £600 acting lessons 13 Dec 2012


A further concern, they argue, is that the £2billion projected cost is not ‘robust’ and could spiral.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has already demanded the Government return to the ‘drawing board’.

The prospect of a rebellion by both Coalition parties means ministers may have to rely on Labour support to push through the controversial changes.

However, the Opposition has yet to say where it stands on the contentious issue.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has already demanded the Government return to the drawing board

The law would force communications providers to keep databases of phones and computer activity for a year.

Data would be accessed by a computer ‘filter’ used by police or security officials. The MPs are alarmed by the risk of the filter being misused.

Mr Raab told the Mail: “It’s one thing to target terrorists and serious criminals, another to turn us into a nation of suspects. This looks like the mother of all Whitehall IT projects. It needs to be tailored to focused law enforcement if it is going to pass muster.”

MPs paid thousands of pounds from lobby groups Arms manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and foreign governments have reportedly been paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to MPs and peers in parliamentary special interest groups.

MPs paid thousands of pounds from lobby groups, Arms manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and foreign governments have reportedly been paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to MPs and peers in parliamentary special interest groups.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9774964/MPs-paid-thousands-of-pounds-from-lobby-groups.html

Arms manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and foreign governments have reportedly been paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to MPs and peers 

Many of these all-party groups have published reports reflecting the stance of the companies and countries that have funded them, with payments from outside organisations exceeding £1 million a year.

Dozens of parliamentary groups have been sponsored in return for invitations to Westminster events where they can meet ministers and other policymakers.

At least two groups could be contravening parliamentary rules on declaring the source of secretarial and financial support, an investigation by a national newspaper found.

Among the examples of such backing from outside bodies is the case of the Associate Parliamentary Health Group, which was allegedly paid over £190,000 from pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. In exchange, the firms were permitted to send representatives to meetings held by the group.

The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group was said to have received £60,000 last year from brewers and other industry figures and organisations.

Related Articles

Tory MPs attack plans for snoopers' charter 21 Dec 2012

MPs plot to stop rash of new housing squeezing local schools and roads 16 Dec 2012

Weddings beneath MPs' figtrees in Portcullis House 23 Dec 2012

The funds financed a report into beer tax fraud, which costs both the public purse and the alcohol industry millions of pounds a year in lost revenue.

Andrew Griffiths, a Tory MP and the group’s chairman, said the source of its funding was stated in an introduction to the report. But he insisted there was little danger of MPs, who are “notoriously independent”, being influenced by industry sponsors.

At least seven country-specific groups, including those on the Cayman Islands and the United Arab Emirates, are meanwhile allegedly funded and run by the governments of those particular countries.

The funding raises questions about the independence of the groups.

Baroness Shepherd of Northwold, a former Tory Cabinet minister who advised Jack Straw, the former Labour Home Secretary, in his review of all-party groups in 2011, said it was alarming how much corporate money was funnelled into such groups.

“I think that there were groups that perhaps traded on their ability to use a parliamentary logo and thereby getting themselves confused – usefully to them – with the very legitimate and statutory select committees,” she told The Times. “This we felt very serious about.”

un-inquiry-into-saudi-arabia-war-crimes-in-yemen-shelved-after-saudi-opposition

UN-inquiry-into-Saudi-Arabia-war-crimes-in-Yemen-shelved-after-Saudi-opposition, gee i wonder why?, ffs

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/un-inquiry-into-saudi-arabia-war-crimes-in-yemen-shelved-after-saudi-opposition-a6676141.html

Western countries have backed an investigation by the Saudi-allied Yemen government



Western countries have ditched plans for a United Nations-led inquiry into alleged war crimes by Saudi Arabia and others in Yemen, instead backing an investigation by the Saudi-allied Yemen government.

The move came despite rising concern at the number of civilians killed in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition and indiscriminate shelling by the Houthi rebels. The UN reported on Tuesday that 2,355 civilians had been killed over the last six months. Britain supplies arms to Riyadh and there have been claims these could be being used to commit war crimes.

Saudi Arabia ‘demands’ Russia stops airstrikes
Hammond doesn't deny Britain helped put Saudis on Human Rights Council
UK 'helped Saudi Arabia get human rights role in secret deal’
Why one of the world's worst offenders is on a UN human rights panel

The Netherlands, backed by several Western countries, had drawn up a draft resolution instructing the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights to send experts to Yemen to investigate the allegations. However, after opposition from Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, this has now been dropped and Western governments instead accepted a resolution to support an inquiry set up by the Yemeni government.

Human Rights Watch condemned the UN Human Rights Council’s failure to create an “independent, international” inquiry, saying Yemen’s people would suffer. “Such a mechanism would have been crucial to confront continued impunity for crimes committed in the country... The increasingly desperate Yemeni population should not be ignored by the world’s pre-eminent human rights body.” All parties in the conflict had “committed serious violations of international humanitarian law”, it said, adding: “Houthi and allied forces have also repeatedly violated international humanitarian law, including by launching rockets into civilian populated areas in southern Yemen and across the border in Saudi Arabia, mistreating persons in custody, and recruiting children.”

Earlier this week Britain was accused of entering into a secret vote-trading deal with Saudi Arabia to ensure both countries obtained membership of the Human Rights Council. Secret Saudi cables, obtained by WikiLeaks, indicated the UK had asked the Saudis for support in elections that took place in 2013.

political propaganda fake news fuckery!,

political propaganda fake news fuckery!,

Yemen wedding bombing: 15-year-old survivor tells of devastation wreaked on family party, and then instead of expressing the horror of seeing his entire family blown to pieces, he starts to reminisce about a visit to NASA, and how its a source of national pride, as he received an award, pfft it doesnt exist and neither does the paper, i looked, and he then goes on to talk about anything other than what a 15 year old boy having just watched his entire famz blown to bits, would say and should say, not even a scream of pain and sorrow yet nothing, its a complete fabrication

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-wedding-bombing-15-year-old-survivor-tells-of-devastation-wreaked-on-family-party-a6697331.html

A Saudi-led air strike on a wedding in Yemen earlier this month killed scores of guests and wounded 54 others, including women, children – and a 15-year-old boy who dreams of being an astronaut. Survivors speak to Mary Ghallab

this has been staged i've analysed this image thoroughly and you can tell this was done after the "bomb blasts", as i have never seen a missile yet, that stops to take a shit on your bed after it blows your windows in, also that TV screen would have also exploded from the shock-wave, if it was strong enough to blow the window frames in, yet it didn't, and even move fuckery, the pillows on the top of the bed, what are they full of lead?, and that red curtain would have been trapped underneath the frame not over it, like it has been done for the effect, also notice he's got a machine gun over his shoulder, they did a good job at air brushing it, so its not as obvious, he's a military stooge hes got the cammos on too and theres a camo jacket hung on the door, he's clearly some sort of military personnel, and this is their attempt at a propaganda image, done piss poorly

#fakenews

then where to begin with this clearly fake story, with its pro nasa america speech and emotional anecdotes to make you feel like you can relate to them, magically it's just when they want more funding, they always try to make a justifiable reason for it, read it and if you can't tell that this story has been cobbled together, from statements meant to rouse feelings of pride in NASA's accomplishments and make america look good, then your either blind, a stooge, a moron, or work for the government in some capacity or probably a bit of all of them, i mean come on, they are the one blowing everywhere up!, its not peeps, read this bellow, its a classic example of government propaganda trying to sway your opinions, and manipulate your feelings, to get what they want, Wake Up!,

It should have been a day of happy family celebration for 15-year-old Abdullah Qais Sanabani, a Yemeni schoolboy previously best known by his schoolmates for having once won a trip to Nasa’s US headquarters.

His three uncles, dressed in smart blue jackets over traditional white robes and wearing colourful turbans, were holding a joint wedding ceremony and party. Their three brides, all from nearby villages, had just arrived in a convoy of 30 cars, beeping horns and playing loud music in celebration, when a power generator failure prompted Abdullah to leave the house with one of his uncles to see what was wrong.

READ MORE

15 civilians 'killed in bombing at wedding party'

Moments later, at 9.30pm, the deafening roar of warplanes filled the air and missiles rained down from the sky on to the two-storey wedding house built on the top of a hill in the small town of Sanabani, 60 miles south of the capital Sanaa.

“We heard the terrifying sound of the jets,” Abdullah recalled in a weak voice. “My uncle pushed me behind a water tank. Missiles fell on us and exploded, and when I looked around, I found all those who were around me dead. My uncle’s body was torn into pieces. He hadn’t got married yet.”

“I am in pain all the time. My whole body has been scorched, yet zero photo evidence

Abdullah Qais Sanabani

Abdullah spoke to The Independent by telephone from bed in a Jordanian hospital, where he was flown for emergency treatment after the attack 

According to witnesses, at least 57 of the wedding party – mostly members of the extended families of the brides and the grooms – were killed and dozens others injured in the attack earlier this month. Bed-ridden and still swathed in bandages, Abdullah suffered first-degree burns in the face and body and said he was afraid that doctors might amputate his hands. “I am in pain all the time. My whole body has been scorched,” he said.

Six months since the Saudi-led coalition started its air campaign, aimed at rolling back Yemen’s Houthi rebels who had seized control of the capital and much of the north of the country, more than 5,400 people have been killed, at least half of them non-combatant civilians.

The fighting began as a civil war between rival factions, along partly religious lines, but has drawn in outside powers in a regional struggle for influence between Sunni Gulf countries and Shia Iran, which supports the Houthis.

Yemen’s internationally recognised President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was forced to flee the country and ask for military intervention – a request answered by Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Gulf states. Meanwhile al-Qaeda and other extremist groups have taken the opportunity to seize parts of the country for themselves.

The Sanabani family’s wedding was the second in a fortnight to be struck from the air, after a previous raid killed more than 130 civilians at a ceremony near the Red Sea city of Mokha, which the United Nations described as the deadliest single event in the country since the Saudi intervention in March. A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri, denied that an air strike was responsible for either of the killings.

Earlier this month, a Saudi move to block a planned UN-led inquiry into alleged human rights violations in Yemen was supported by Western countries including Britain, which supplies arms the Saudi regime. The inquiry would have investigated actions by both sides. Meanwhile violence is continuing unabated. On Thursday, air strikes rocked the capital Sanaa hours after Houthis fired a Scud missile at an air base in south-western Saudi Arabia, according to the Houthi-controlled Yemeni state news agency, Saba, leaving at least five dead.

On Friday jets from the Saudi-led military coalition bombed the house of Yemen’s Speaker of parliament, residents said, as part of a wave of attacks aimed at influential politicians. The attack reportedly hit the residence of Yahya al-Rai in central Dhamar province, leaving him unscathed but killing his son. Residents of Sanaa reported around 60 coalition air strikes over the last two days on military bases and houses belonging to family members of Ali Abdullah Saleh, a former President and important ally of the Houthis.

Abdullah’s father, Qais Sanabani, said most of the dead in his family’s wedding party had been women because, according to Yemeni traditions, men must leave the house when the brides first arrive. As well as Abdullah’s uncle, one of the brides and 10 other immediate family members perished, including his grandparents. A health ministry official in Dhamar, Mohammed Gamah, said the final death toll had risen to 66 – 33 women, 18 men and 15 children – and 54 others injured. 

A picture shared by Mr Sanabani showed half of the bombed wedding house still standing amid rubble, with cooking pots and pans, clothes and the smashed remains of furniture scattered around and the charred skeletons of several cars nearby. The building is half an hour’s drive from Dhamar, known as the seat of Shia sect of Zaydism, practised by the Houthis, in Yemen. Zaydis compose a third of Yemen’s population, while the majority are Sunnis. The nearest army camp that might have been a military target is 23 miles from the house. 

Abdullah’s visit to Nasa in 2011 made headlines in Yemeni newspapers, one of which quoted the boy saying: “My trip to Nasa is a source of pride to Yemen.” According to his father, Abdullah spent five days at the Nasa headquarters after an Indian institute awarded him a “Global Icon” certificate for coming top in a scientific competition. i searched for record of this paper and any evidence to prove he was even there and found nothing AT ALL

“He was so happy to go to Nasa and for him, this was a turning point,” Mr Sanabani said. In school, he added, his son excelled in scientific applications, making models to show how to generate solar energy. Mr Sanabani said that his son always dreamt of becoming an astronaut. From his hospital bed, Abdullah summed up his ambitions. “I wanted to do something that benefits human kind. So when I die, people remember me,” he said.    

its basically a NASA advert, and them trying to justify killing innocent people, by getting you to feel emotionally invested in the characters of the story :(  :(  :(

#PeaceIsTheOnlyPathToEnlightenment!

New intake brings number of disabled MPs in Commons to five Two new Labour MPs – Jared O’Mara and Marsha de Cordova – are part of the increase, but disability campaigners say more work needs to be done, as they are fail to adequately represent the British public

New intake brings number of disabled MPs in Commons to five  Two new Labour MPs – Jared O’Mara and Marsha de Cordova – are part of the increase, but disability campaigners say more work needs to be done, as they are fail to adequately represent the British public

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/11/new-intake-brings-number-of-disabled-mps-in-commons-to-five

Robert Booth

Sun 11 Jun 2017 18.11 BST Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.53 GMT
 This article is over 11 months old
Shares
443
 Houses of Parliament
 Less than 1% of parliament identify as being disabled. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
The new House of Commons will include five disabled MPs, an increase of three on the last term.

 Labour MP Jared O’Mara.
 Labour MP Jared O’Mara. Photograph: Jon Super for the Guardian
Two new Labour MPs are part of the increase. Marsha de Cordova, who defeated Jane Ellison in Battersea, is registered blind and spoke about disabled rights in her victory speech. Jared O’Mara, who has cerebral palsy, won Sheffield Hallam from the former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.

Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd, who is deaf, returns after losing his seat in 2015.

Conservative MPs Robert Halfon, who has cerebal palsy and osteoarthritis, and Paul Maynard, who also has cerebal palsy, were reelected.

 Marsha de Cordova.
 Marsha de Cordova. Photograph: Labour party
But with the five MPs amounting to less than 1% of the parliament’s total membership, the intake was described as “disappointing” by Jamie Szymkowiak, founder of the One in Five campaign for more disabled politicians.

“One in five of us self-identify as being disabled, which includes mental health, learning disabilities and long-term health conditions,” he said. “The biggest barrier is the cost of standing for election and getting through the selection process.”

He called on the government to start offering grants to disabled people to help cover those costs. He said the Scottish Executive has set aside £200,000 for that purpose, although it is not accessible to people wanting to win election to Westminster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_physically_disabled_politicians


I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.
Thomasine, Sweden United Kingdom
Jack Ashley, MP from 1966 to 1992, profoundly deaf from 1967.
Anne Begg, MP from 1997 to 2015, wheelchair user.
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, is blind in one eye.
David Blunkett, former Home Secretary, is blind since birth.
Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, disabled rights activist and member of the House of Lords, was born with spinal muscular atrophy.
Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton and Baroness Masham of Ilton, politician, had several parts of her body paralysed following a car accident.
Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Lonsdale, MP several times between 1924 and 1958, then first life peer appointed to the House of Lords in 1958, blinded in action during the First World War.
George III, King of the United Kingdom, was blind and deaf in his last ten years.
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, disabled athlete and Member of the house of Lords, was born with spina bifida.
Davina Ingrams, 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth, member of the House of Lords, paralyzed from neck down following a car accident.
Colin Low, Baron Low of Dalston was born blind.
David Maclean, Baron Blencathra, MP (1983–2010) currently sitting to the house of Lords, since 1996 has multiple sclerosis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_physically_disabled_politicians
United Kingdom
Jack Ashley, MP from 1966 to 1992, profoundly deaf from 1967.
Anne Begg, MP from 1997 to 2015, wheelchair user.
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, is blind in one eye.
David Blunkett, former Home Secretary, is blind since birth.
Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, disabled rights activist and member of the House of Lords, was born with spinal muscular atrophy.
Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton and Baroness Masham of Ilton, politician, had several parts of her body paralysed following a car accident.
Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Lonsdale, MP several times between 1924 and 1958, then first life peer appointed to the House of Lords in 1958, blinded in action during the First World War.
George III, King of the United Kingdom, was blind and deaf in his last ten years.
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, disabled athlete and Member of the house of Lords, was born with spina bifida.
Davina Ingrams, 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth, member of the House of Lords, paralyzed from neck down following a car accident.
Colin Low, Baron Low of Dalston was born blind.
David Maclean, Baron Blencathra, MP (1983–2010) currently sitting to the house of Lords, since 1996 has multiple sclerosis.

Vince Cable one of 40 MPs on guest list for arms dealers dinner in London

Vince Cable one of 40 MPs on guest list for arms dealers dinner in London


https://www.caat.org.uk/issues/influence/resources/2015-02-03.ads.dinner-parliamentarians.pdf

The British government's close ties to the arms industry was illustrated this week at a London banquet hosted by the UK's defence and security companies.

There were 40 MPs on the guest list for a £250-a-head gathering at the Hilton hotel on Park Lane organised by trade organisation ADS, according to information provided by activist group Campaign Against Arms Trade (Caat).

Business Secretary Vince Cable was the most high-profile attendee, and gave a speech at the event.

A spokesperson said he was there to address some of the UK's major employers, and declined to comment further.

The Independent has contacted other MPs reported to have been in attendance.

Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2 host who will help to lead the organisation's general election coverage, has come under fire over his speech at the event, for which he received a five-figure fee, with Caat officially complaining that his appearance is "incompatible with the corporation's values".

The BBC stated that Vine "is a freelance presenter and so can make personal appearances without speaking on behalf of the BBC".

But Caat have also taken aim at Westminster, accusing politicians of appearing close to an industry it claims "profits from dictatorships which silence and suppress debate".

Jeremy Vine criticised over speech at arms dealers dinner
Prince Charles does not want the UK selling arms in the Middle East
Andrew Smith from Caat said: "It's outrageous that the government actively supports and promotes this deadly trade.

"The fact that arms dealers were swilling champagne with over 40 MPs is a disgrace and shows the extent of the arms trade's connections and political lobbying."

Among the arms companies hosting MPs were Cobham, Raytheon, Thales, BAE Systems and MBDA.

These companies have export and business interests in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Israel, Taiwan and Bahrain.


Parliamentarians listed on the final guest list and seating plan for the ADS Annual Defence
Dinner, 3 February 2015

Notes:
* 2015: Margaret Curran MP, Conor McGinn (assistant to Vernon Coaker MP), Nicola Blackwood MP and Jason McCartney MP
contacted us to say they did not attend. August 2016: Owen Smith MP has said he did not attend.
MP Party Constituency ADS dinner: guest of....
James Arbuthnot Conservative North East Hampshire Guest of BAE
Margaret Beckett Labour Derby South Guest of Rolls Royce
Gordon Birtw istle Liberal Democrat Burnley Guest of SAFRAN
Nicola Blackw ood* Conservative Oxford West and Abingdon Guest of ADS
Vince Cable Liberal Democrat Tw ickenham Guest of ADS and a speaker
Alun Cairns Conservative Vale of Glamorgan Guest of Raytheon
Neil Carmichael Conservative Stroud Guest of ADS
Nick Clegg Liberal Democrat Sheffield, Hallam Special Adviser Alex Dziedzan attended as guest of Raytheon
Vernon Coaker Labour Gedling Guest of ADS w ith assistant Conor McGinn*
Margaret Curran* Labour Glasgow East Guest of Raytheon
Brian Donohoe Labour Central Ayrshire Guest of Airbus
Gemma Doyle Labour West Dunbartonshire Guest of BAE
Philip Dunne Conservative Ludlow Guest of ADS plus Private Secretary Tom Burden
Tobias Ellw ood Conservative Bournemouth East Guest of Cobham
Graham Evans Conservative Weaver Vale Guest of ADS
Mark Francois Conservative Rayleigh and Wickford Guest of BAE
Mark Garnier Conservative Wyre Forest Guest of Airbus
Robert Goodw ill Conservative Scarborough and Whitby Guest of ADS
James Gray Conservative North Wiltshire Guest of ADS
Nick Harvey Liberal Democrat North Devon Guest of Cobham
Gerald How arth Conservative Aldershot Guest of Farnborough International
Kevan Jones Labour North Durham Guest of Marshall ADG
Ivan Lew is Labour Bury South Guest of Bombardier w ith assistant Heather Vernon
Julian Lew is Conservative New Forest East Guest of Airbus
Ian Lucas Labour Wrexham Guest of Finmeccanica
Peter Luff Conservative Mid Worcestershire Guest of Northrop Grumman
Mary Macleod Conservative Brentford and Islew orth Guest of Raytheon
Jason McCartney* Conservative Colne Valley Guest of ADS
Andrew Miller Labour Ellesmere Port and Neston Guest of SAFRAN
Madeleine Moon Labour Bridgend Guest of Finmeccanica
Michael Moore Liberal Democrat Berw ickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk Guest of Selex ES
Penny Mordaunt Conservative Portsmouth North Guest of BAE Systems Maritime Services
Lilian Neville-Jones Conservative Lords Guest of ADS
Chi Onw urah Labour New castle upon Tyne Central Guest of ADS
Andrew Robathan Conservative South Leicestershire Guest of Atkins
Laurence Robertson Conservative Tew kesbury Guest of SAFRAN
Alison Seabeck Labour Plymouth, Moor View Guest of Babcock
Ow en Smith* Labour Pontypridd Guest of Airbus
Clive Soley Labour Lords Guest of ADS
John Spellar Labour Warley Guest of GKN
Mike Thornton Liberal Democrat Eastleigh Guest of Eaton Aerospace
Paul Uppal Conservative Wolverhampton South West Guest of ADS
Heather Wheeler Conservative South Derbyshire Guest of ADS
John Woodcock Labour Barrow and Furness Guest of BAE

Government says UK's 'heart goes out' to wedding guests killed by Saudi bombs - but it won't stop selling country arms Instead the minister called for all sides to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Yemen conflict

Government says UK's 'heart goes out' to wedding guests killed by Saudi bombs - but it won't stop selling country arms Instead the minister called for all sides to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Yemen conflict

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-saudi-arabia-arms-deals-wedding-yemen-deaths-air-strikes-harriet-baldwin-a8320006.html

The UK government has said that its heart “goes out” to relatives of people killed when a Saudi-led air strike bombed a wedding, but that it still refuses to halt arms sales to the country.

Foreign minister Harriet Baldwin said Britain had been told by Saudi Arabia that an investigation would be launched into the incident in the Yemeni civil war, which left 20 people at the wedding party dead including the bride.

But she stood by the UK’s on-going arms trade with Saudi, worth £4.6bn since the start of the Yemen conflict, arguing that the Middle Eastern country has adequate systems to ensure operations comply with international law.


READ MORE
'Bride killed' as air strike hits wedding party in Yemen
Ministers were called to parliament in the wake of the latest tragedy, with many of those killed at the wedding said to be women and children.

Ms Baldwin said the government was aware of “significant civilian causalities” resulting from the Saudi-led coalition air strike.

She told MPs: “We take these reports extremely seriously. The Saudi-led coalition has confirmed that it will carry out an investigation.

“It is essential that this happens without delay, the results are published and that the lessons learned are acted upon.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those killed. We call upon all parties to comply with international humanitarian law.”

Yemen: 'At least 20 killed including bride' after airstrike by Saudi-led coalition hits wedding party
Ms Baldwin called for “a political settlement” to the conflict as the “only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen”, she did not explicitly criticise Saudi Arabia or even say that she condemned the attack.

Instead, she addressed her words at all sides of the conflict, saying: “The Yemeni parties must engage constructively and in good faith to overcome obstacles and find a political solution to end the conflict.”

US urges Yemeni rebels not to seek revenge for Saudi air strike
UK announces £170m Yemen aid package as millions face starvation
Fire destroys Yemen warehouses filled with aid supplies
Yemen hit by new cholera outbreak warning
Trump touts weapons deals with Saudi Arabia
Diphtheria outbreak in Yemen infects more than 1,300 people, says WHO


She said the UK would be a “candid friend” to Saudi Arabia, encouraging the country’s leaders to the negotiating table – but also advising and training Saudi military personnel.

It is not the first time the Saudi-led coalition has bombed a wedding in Yemen, with witnesses saying around 60 were killed in an incident in 2015.

On Tuesday Ms Baldwin was forced to attend the Commons after an urgent question was tabled by Labour MP Stephen Twigg, who highlighted how the Ministry of Defence’s own figures show there have been 42 potential violations of international humanitarian law in just three months at the beginning of 2018.

Yemen cholera epidemic: Worst in modern history at 360,000 cases and counting
That was compared to 66 incidents throughout the whole of last year, leading to Mr Twigg to call for an end of arms sales to Saudi Arabia during his speech.

He was backed by Lib Dem MP Tom Brake and the SNP’s Chris Law, who highlighted the sale of 48 fighter jets to the kingdom, announced during a high profile UK visit of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, last month.

Mr Law, (lolz), quoted information that of 17,000 Saudi-led coalition air strikes, one third have hit non-military targets.

But the minister rebutted the calls, highlighting a UK High Court decision that found that Saudi Arabia did have systems in place to ensure its actions complied with international humanitarian law, thus negating any need to halt arms sales to the country.


She focussed her speech on the horrendous situation still unfolding in Yemen, which she said is the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world” with more than 22 million people in need of help.

Some 17 million are estimated to have no reliable access to food, and eight million are facing “extreme food shortages” amid the on-going conflict, she said.

She pointed out that the Government has paid some £117m of support to Yemen and last year the UK was the second largest donor to the UN for the crisis.

🌍☮️♻️🌍🗻♻️😇✌️

https://ello.co/edio1

www.ediobangers.blogspot.co.uk/

https://plus.google.com/+ediobangerz

www.facebook.com/ruffneckbase/ 

https://www.facebook.com/ruffneckbass01/

www.ediovision.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/ediovision/

www.facebook.com/thematrixhasyouwakeup/

www.facebook.com/peelingbacktheveil/

https://www.facebook.com/RealtimehdEarthviewingexperiment/

also i have a YouTube page, it has a copy of all my latest tracks,5000+ and if you keep going back, pretty much every track I've ever posted, just go to liked video's, and hit play all, and then you won't have to keep pressing play, but unfortunately you wont get to read, what i write, but you will get access, to a constant stream of tracks, for over a 2 years solid play time, but you know, ya can't have it all looolz ;)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jBy5vUUUTItELLXQbcE9w

🌍☮️♻️🌍🗻♻️😇✌️